Building battle: War of words marks final approval for downtown rentals

The city seal of Boca Raton evokes the "jagged inlet" that the…

March 18, 2013|By Anne Geggis, Sun Sentinel

Boca Raton —

Depending on who you talk to, the 378-unit Archstone Palmetto Park is either going to mark the death of Boca Raton's dream of remaining a low-density, pedestrian-friendly seaside city or the salvation of a downtown section in dire need of revitalizing.

What both sides can agree on, though, is that last week's five-hour showdown between Archstone's opponents and its advocates was less a municipal meeting than a pitched battle that sometimes deteriorated into shouting from the floor.

Who was at fault, however, depends on what side you're on.

Glenn Gromann, a land-use attorney who serves on the Planning and Zoning Board, said he sees an economic boon in more rentals on the city's main east-west downtown artery, Palmetto Park Road, and faults the professionals who represented Archstone's opponents for how last week's meeting deteriorated.

"It was a little over-the-top and unnecessary," said Gromann, who has been involved in developments throughout the city.

He recalled how the meeting began with attorney Ralf Brookes challenging City Council members' reports of who they had met with regarding the development and whether they could be properly objective.

Gromann also cited one point in the meeting when Brookes grabbed a piece of paper from the hands of George Brown, the deputy city manager: "It was more contentious than it needed to be," Gromann said.

For others, though, the surprise was that some members of the City Council, who were meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, challenged and interrupted some members of the public who were testifying.

City Council member Anthony Majhess, who was alone in voting against Archstone's approval singled out Councilwoman Constance Scott, who is the CRA chair, for not allowing the citizens an uninterrupted five minutes to speak in front of the council. And that she didn't seem willing to consider new information.

"That was the most egregious use of the chair that I've seen," he said. "She seemed more like a paid advocate for Archstone."

Scott did not return a call seeking comment on the criticism from Majhess.

During the five-hour meeting, Scott thanked almost everyone for coming up to speak — but the sole citizen voice for the project was also the only recipient of her praise.

"I always look forward to having you come and speak," she said as resident Harvey Levinson left the lectern.

When 42-year Boca resident Elisabeth Hoffman came forward, however, Scott interrupted her about two minutes into her testimony after Hoffman said she was worried the city was allowing Archstone to decrease the number of retail stores.

Hoffman said she was concerned the same thing might happen to the development that is planned for the 78 acres behind her house.

"That's downtown and downtown is different from the planned mobility that's outside the city," Scott said. "This appears to be pedestrian friendly — it has 24-foot setbacks [between the street and building.]"

Hoffman fired back, "It has setbacks, but no place to go."

Next, Scott said that the current downtown retail space needs 10,000 people living nearby to remain viable. And that, "with the projects we have approved, we're talking about still less than 6,000 people residing in the downtown."

In February 2012, Archstone and its developers received City Council approval to built the nine-story, 378-unit complex. But neighbors petitioned for a re-vote on the ordinance the City Council approved that allows the complex. They won the right to hold a vote on the ordinance, but the city and the developer have appealed and the issue is currently tied up in the state's 4th District Court of Appeal.

In the wake of that, the majority of the City Council set Archstone's construction as a high priority.

Developers have proposed another version of Archstone that avoids the issues under dispute in the appeal. This Archstone has 3,000 fewer square feet of retail and is set back further from the street than the original.

Many critics who came to the lectern last week complained that the drop in retail space gives up on a vision that encourages pedestrian traffic, like outdoor dining terraces. For Michele Bellisari, a real estate agent who has lived in Boca since 1978, the project is simply too big, however. She spoke her piece uninterrupted.

But she said it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"My personal opinion is that I think the decision had already been made — it didn't really matter what anyone said," Bellisari said.

Majhess said a quasi-judicial hearing like Monday's should have allowed citizens to speak mostly uninterrupted for their allotted time and that the City Council members have a chance to speak their mind once the public hearing is closed.

But Chairwoman Scott said, at the end of her meeting, she had her reasons for adding her comments as the citizens came up: "As I look out, I see most of the speakers have gone ... If I hadn't addressed my comments to them, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to hear what I had to say."